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Phillipsburg, Allentown public housing residents will pay higher rents under new federal mandate

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Phillipsburg Housing Authority family units are pictured Aug. 15, 2014 along the 400 block of Heckman Street in Phillipsburg. Some rents for residents of the housing authority will increase because of a federal mandate. Express-Times Photo | STEPHEN FLOOD

Some public housing residents in the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey will see their rents increase as a result of new federal requirements.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development advised local housing authorities they need to charge at least 80 percent of fair-market rents for tenants who opt to pay a flat monthly rate instead of a percentage of their incomes.

The department told housing officials they needed to start the process by June 1 and charge the higher rents for new tenants by Oct. 1, according to a public notice.

"We're not going to be able to do that anymore," he said. "This is not an option. This is a requirement."

Across the Delaware River, Easton Housing Authority Executive Director Gene Pambianchi said residents of subsidized housing in the city won't see an increase in their rents because of the mandate. Officials reviewed the new requirement and determined the authority is already charging the minimum or more for all of its rentals subject to the policy.

Fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $974 a month in Northampton, Lehigh and Carbon counties and $1,171 in Warren County, according to federal guidelines. Anyone who pays 30 percent of income toward rent instead of a flat rate will be unaffected by the changes, Rummerfield said. Seniors living on a limited income usually fall into that category, he said.

"It doesn't affect them," Rummerfield said. "When I explained it to people (at a housing authority meeting), you could see a collective sigh of relief."

About 100 residents who pay the flat rent for subsidized housing in Phillipsburg will see, at most, an increase of $227 a month in the first year, Rummerfield said. Federal rules prevent the housing authority from increasing a family's rent by more than 35 percent in a year, according to HUD.

The higher rents take effect for new tenants Oct. 1 and for current tenants when it's time to renew their leases, he said.

Allentown Housing Authority Executive Director Daniel Farrell said officials in the city are looking at the new guidelines and revising rents accordingly. Only about 50 of the authority's 1,150 public housing residents have flat rents, he said. Rents will increase by as little as $19 a month for some people and by as much as $245 a month for others, Farrell said.

The biggest increase will be for five-bedroom apartments, of which there are few, he said.

"We don't want people thinking everybody's rent is going to go up by that amount, because it isn't," Farrell said.

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RENT HIKE HEARING

The Phillipsburg Housing Authority will hold a public hearing on the rent increases 6 p.m. Sept. 3 at the office at 530 Heckman St. The authority is also accepting comments in writing until Sept. 1.